


A trip down the memory lane

by cuby18



Category: Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz
Genre: AR Febuwhump (Alex Rider), But Mostly Hurt, Gen, Hallucinations, Hallucinogens, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Non-Consensual Drug Use, some actual torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29351556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuby18/pseuds/cuby18
Summary: Alex was pretty sure reminiscing wasn't supposed to look like this. It should be bitter-sweet, an opportunity to relieve good (and possibly bad) memories from a safe distance. And not, you know. A literal torture.AR Febuwhump 2021. Day 11: Hallucinations
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29
Collections: AR Febuwhump 2021





	A trip down the memory lane

Alex returned to the land of the living with bleary eyes, his body aching all over and strapped into some sort of metal contraption with detectors that remained him a bit too much of certain failed attempt to spend some time as an exchange student in Egypt. He tried to focus on his surroundings, but his eyes refused to participate. It took him a couple of minutes before he could claim to be properly awake and to categorize his surroundings. He was in some kind of dark lab-like room, and the air was just on the uncomfortable side of cold. He tried to recall what he was doing that would once again land him in such a familiar position, and slowly the memories trickled back in. He remembered debriefing in yet another aptly named museum, where Byrne was telling him all about that new threat that might have had some ties with Scorpia and would be he so kind to check it out? Well, he was pretty sure it was his brain adding the question at the end. However, as things proceeded he was unceremoniously dropped off somewhere in Congo, at the edge of a rainforest and left there with a map that looked like it was sketched by a toddler and some vague assurances of them having his back. Yeah, like that ever happened.

So, if his memory still served him well, he spent the next few hours trekking deeper and deeper into the forest, and just as he was about to check-in for the first time he remembered sensing something behind him, and then nothing.

Well, at least I found their evil lair, he thought sarcastically to himself. All that was left is waiting for a calvary to break him out, something that he wouldn't even entertain if they didn't tell him it would be his old unit and Fox that was his back-up. He still had some modicum of faith in the latter.

His musings were interrupted by two arrivals. One of them was dressed like a scientist, probably to match the environment, and the other one looked like your run of the mill thug, although one with some additional training judging by his posture.

His observations were broken when he saw the first man grab the injection from somewhere behind him and without any ceremony stick it into his arm. He barely had the moment to register the pain, before the area became completely numb, and the feeling started spreading throughout his body.

And of course, his captor decided that was a perfect time to start explaining his master plan. Alex couldn't believe he waited until after injecting him. His next thought turned into more worrying directions, especially since it looked like this villain might be on a completely different level, competency-wise than the majority of his ex-captors, or as Tom would call them when they could be overheard, his exes. And wasn't it fun traumatising people when they discussed them in public in more vague terms. He tuned back to the monologue.

''Welcome in our research facility, Mr Rider,'' started the scientist. ''While we did not have the pleasure of meeting beforehand, we had a common acquaintance, namely my fellow researcher, Mr. Razim. I believe you encountered him in Cairo?'' Here he flashed Alex a quick smile that reminded Alex of the crocodile. And the bad feeling in his gut increased tenfold with the mention of his worst mission to date, especially with the detectors he noticed before.

Seemingly obvious to his growing anxiety and fear rolling in his stomach, he continued. ''Of course, he probably wasn't able to mention me in the short time you knew him, but let's just say we were co-workers, of a sort. He found me a couple of years back after he read about my research – it was pure happenstance that our interests aligned so well. You see, he wanted to research pain levels, and you met him at the point when he started on the second stage of his work – the level pain caused by an extreme emotional reaction.'' Alex started to tremble as he remembered that particular conversation he had in Cairo and shook himself out of the reminiscing, else he remembered the parts he preferred to keep buried deep inside.

The scientist continued without a pause, seemingly forgetting his audience. ''It was this second part that aligned almost perfectly with my own work. I spent over a decade studying the very forest we found you in, and during that time I made some surprising discoveries, especially regarding certain plant properties. I started with studying traditional poisons that were used by natives to hunt, to paralyse the animal so it couldn't escape... you might have heard of curare? Nifty little poison, deadly for animals, since it entered their blood system, but harmless for people eating their meat, since it isn't absorbed. However, it wasn't what finally caught my attention. Instead, I came across another plant, one with a surprising property of inducing hallucinations in person, but based on their own memories. And this is what I truly focused on. After years of playing with it and tweaking its properties by combining it with other mind-altering drugs, I achieved my goal – a serum capable of inducing hallucinations based on worst memories an individual has triggered by the environment and its assault on subject's senses. We wanted to test whether people experienced higher pain levels at the time when the torture is actually happening or later when they're forced to recall the treatment. Sadly we never quite managed to get to that point – all of Razim's subjects either died or were pushed so far that their remaining brain function wasn't quite suitable for further experiments, not if we wanted conclusive results, that is.''

Here he paused and actually focused on Alex, who shivered at the glee on his face. ''But here's when you come into play! We hoped the second part of experiments would leave us with subjects fit for further research. Sadly you managed to kill him before he finished the experiment, but we managed to retrieve a hard drive with some of your readings, so you are a perfect person for me to test the drug on. For the best possible results I had someone hack into your mission debriefings – it cost me quite a lot actually, but I have high hopes for this experiment – to prepare the best stimulations for your senses to bring forward the chosen traumas. And trauma, I discovered, is a gift that keeps giving.''

He nodded towards the thug who immediately started fiddling with some of the settings on Alex's chair that slowly started leaning backwards.

''I thought I'd start simple and work up to the Cairo experiment. However, in the interest of coming full circle... why not start with your other Egyptian experience. Perhaps an encounter with your current employers would be in order?''

At least that was what Alex thought he said. The feeling of numbness was slowly giving way to a slow-burning feeling, and the last thing he was conscious for were the words: ''It should start every moment now. Open the tap in ...'' and then the room disappeared.

- _Alex was panicking. He tried to breathe, but everything he could feel was the rushing of water around him, the oppressing feeling on his face, hands holding him down. He tried gasping for air, for anything, he could feel himself slipping away, he couldn't! –_

_\- He could breathe again. Slow intakes of air, he felt his heart rate settle for something less resembling a scared rabbit. He felt the cold metal he was lying on, the restrictions, a voice with a foreign accent in the background... he tried to focus on the words, but then something cold touched his biceps and his breath hitched when he recognised the voice he never expected to see again, talking about dissection, and lessons... he started hyperventilating, his heart once again trying to escape out of his chest, he could feel the scalpel travelling along his arm, mapping out the veins as he recalled his anatomy lessons from Malagosto –_

The sounds of shooting tore him from the memory, screaming, and then...

_Once again darkness enveloped him, all he could sense were familiar voices in the background, he could decipher some kind of code – military? Someone was barking orders... it was cold... he could sense the moisture, he was trekking through the mud, he remembered Ian's advice – and then it hit him again, the funeral, the bank, his ' training' – he felt wetness in his eyes, he tried wiping it away –_

There were voices right by his head, arms holding him tight, he could feel himself drifting back to the consciousness, he could feel himself being carried, they must have left the room, the temperature change was drastic, it was hot, there was the exit, fresh air, the sun –

_Blistering sun, dessert sand... one lone figure making her way towards the vehicle, getting in, turning on the ignition – the explosion, screams tearing from his throat. Jack, no, it couldn't be! He could feel tears running down his face, his limbs trashing around until his arms were held close to his body by something ... by someone..._ then a sharp sting of a needle and finally oblivion.

When he woke up again his mind finally cleared enough to recognise the voice of a person hugging him belonged to Fox, and that he was muttering about him being safe.

This time the decision to drift back into unconsciousness was a deliberate one.


End file.
